How Today’s Bride and Groom Feather Their Nest

By Nancy T. Wudel

Dowries being what they are today—nonexistent in most cultures—the Latter-day Saint custom of showering newlyweds with household items is a delightful one. When the get-together is given a special twist, everybody enjoys it.

The new look in pre-wedding festivities is creative, with more meaningful and memorable affairs planned not only for the bride but also for the bridegroom and his friends.

Basics

1. Don’t give a shower for a member of your own family.

2. Call the bride for a party date as soon as the wedding date is announced.

3. Check with the bride for a guest list. Tell her what kind of party you want to give and about how many guests you can handle, and determine whether it is to be a shower or other type of party.

4. Send written invitations in keeping with your theme or telephone the invitations. Either way, identify yourself completely and explain for whom the party is being given. Strangers have a way of being brought together during weddings. Give the details—who, when, and for whom.

5. It is wise to plan showers carefully so they don’t last too long. Bridal couples are busy and will appreciate such thoughtfulness.

Cookout for Couples

A cookout is ideal for summertime showers. Send invitations on white linen paper glued to blue denim. Meet at the hostess’s home and drive to a local canyon or picnic site for barbequed chicken or campfire wieners. Ask each guest to bring an outdoor gift—garden hose, sprinkling can, flower seeds, outdoor gloves, garbage can, or a welcome mat for the new home. The gifts should be the kind that the couple will find useful. Know your couple.

For the bride whose second love is salads, give a salad shower. Plan a midday luncheon and ask each guest to bring her favorite salad with the written recipe. Add your own special rolls and a yummy dessert for a delicious (and easy!) buffet. Give a recipe book to the bride.

Rainy Day Shower

A rainy day shower suggests invitations made from newspaper clippings of the weather report, mounted on white stationery and imprinted with the words “Shower Ahead.” On the reverse side, list pertinent information:

Headline:	100% Chance of Showers
Lead:	Cindy Bride expected to be caught by surprise
Timetable:	Date and time
Forecaster:	Hostess’s name
Prediction:	A deluge of rainy-day gifts

For the activity, have guests finish a short poem about the bride that begins with the phrase “On a misty, moisty morning.” Each guest could write her poetic effort on a three-by-five-inch card that can be filed under “Inspiration” in a recipe box. Gifts could be anything from an umbrella to plastic hats, a savings bank, a potted plant, a scarf, or a book of verse to be read during a storm.

His and Hers

A his and hers party combines the best of two worlds—a shower and boy-girl togetherness. Guests bring his-and-her gadgets. As each present is opened by the bride or bridegroom, the donor takes from a ribbon clothesline a miniature apron or a pair of pants cut from bright felt. On these miniatures are mounted quotations on love and marriage, which are read aloud.

Quilting Bee

An old-fashioned quilting bee can be fun and informative. Set up a quilting frame (before guests arrive) with flannel attached. See how quick and easy it is to make a yarn tie-quilt for the lucky bride! As bridal gifts, guests bring notions for sewing hours.

Night of Nostalgia

A nostalgia night is a favorite with today’s brides. The hostess prepares a special scrapbook and gives each guest a colored sheet of paper from the book. Each guest then writes her memories of association with the bride, and the bride reads them aloud later. The bride may also wish to turn the tables and present each guest with a fresh flower as she tells her what she values most about her friendship.

Happy Holidays

A tree-trimming party gets the couple set for Christmas. Ask each guest to bring a Christmas decoration as a gift—such as tree ornaments, lights, holly, angel hair, and Christmas cards. As an activity, make miniature pinecone people to add the final touch to the bride’s first Christmas. She’ll love your thoughtfulness each Christmas thereafter.

Illustrated by McRay Magleby